This invention relates to antimicrobial cation exchange compositions, more particularly to slow release antimicrobial cation exchange resin compositions.
Halocyanoacetamides are well known as antimicrobials as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,419,888 to Nolan et al. and 3,493,658 to Schmidt et al. Said halocyanoacetamides and other antimicrobials are known to be degradable in water and other aqueous fluids and while this property is desirable from an ecological standpoint, it often requires that the antimicrobials in any system to be disinfected be periodically replenished. While this can be accomplished by intermittently introducing large amounts of these antimicrobials into the system, such a procedure is generally inefficient because much of the antimicrobial degrades without acting on the microbes. Therefore, the most effective use of these antimicrobials requires a system of continuously introducing the antimicrobial into the fluid to be disinfected. Such continuous introduction of halocyanoacetamides requires the use of metering or similar equipment. In larger systems the cost of said metering equipment is not especially burdensome, but in some small scale operations the cost of said metering equipment is often prohibitive.
Antimicrobials such as formaldehyde are often employed in conjunction with ion exchange resins, such as in water purification systems. In present systems, the removal of microbes and the removal of cations is accomplished in separate steps, requiring two sets of equipment and extra processing time. Moreover, antimicrobials such as formaldehyde do not degrade rapidly and are difficult to handle. It would be desirable to have a single process wherein both cations and microbes are simultaneously removed from an aqueous fluid, using a degradable, easily handled antimicrobial.
In view of the deficiencies of the known art, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive means for the continuous release of antimicrobials into a system to be disinfected. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a cation exchange resin having antimicrobial properties.